GEODIS extends its U.S. partnership with Danone Waters of America

Capitalizing on a successful partnership established since 2014, GEODIS manages, since July 1st, 2017 a new warehouse in Los Angeles, California (USA), for Danone Waters of America, a subsidiary of Danone specializing in the distribution of bottled water.

A new five-year contract covers logistics operations (storage and handling) at the 15,000 m² warehouse in Carson, Long Beach, near Los Angeles. From here, Danone will supply most of the western United States with products such as Evian and Badoit. The GEODIS operated warehouse manages a stock of 4,000 pallets and, as such, is able to handle an increase in the current quantities imported by Danone Waters of America. It is expected that more than 1.5 million beverage packs will transit through the site by 2018, the equivalent of 1,656 containers. The US subsidiary chose GEODIS because of its excellent understanding of its business challenges and for its ability to implement tailored solutions.

“We are aware of the strategic importance of the United States for Danone Group. As they put their trust in GEODIS, our Group looks forward to supporting Danone’s growth,” explains Marie-Christine Lombard, CEO of GEODIS. “We constantly focus on the needs of our customer. Our staff provides appropriate, flexible solutions based on our unique capabilities: our comprehensive coverage of the US; our expertise in the beverage sector; and our responsiveness in terms of storage and handling requirements, driven by increases in the volumes to be handled.“

“We are excited to continue to expand our relationship with GEODIS as we see them as a true partner and an enabler for our business growth,” says Alan Pecherz, Danone Waters of America Supply Chain Director. “GEODIS is able to understand our dynamic business needs and comes with logistics solutions; and on a daily basis, we value the professionalism and leadership of GEODIS team in the way they implement the solutions and run the operations.“

In 2015, Danone Waters of America asked GEODIS to manage hefting and storage operations at its site in Miami, Florida (USA). Every year, one million beverage packs, equivalent to 1,156 import containers, are handled at this location. The warehouse is around 8,500 m². These packs are distributed to wholesalers, supermarkets and hypermarkets, as well as local shops in the southern part of the United States. The Group has also developed an e-commerce delivery service dedicated to a leading online retailer selling Danone products.

These US warehousing operations dovetail with the sea freight export activities managed by GEODIS for Danone from a control tower based in Marseille. For the past three years, this tower has conducted customs clearance operations for the US and Canada on behalf of Danone Waters of America. Yvone Nava, Danone Waters of America Operations & Planning Director, adds: “From the beginning, when we started with custom brokerage, we have been able to leverage GEODIS expertise and expand by having collaborative and trustful discussions that have been an asset to build our network design strategic plan.”

In 2016, GEODIS processed 1,400 customs import declarations and activity has expanded continuously since the Danone Group decided to focus its growth efforts on the US market – particularly with the acquisition of WhiteWave Foods, a manufacturer specializing in health-related organic products.

GEODIS is a Supply Chain Operator ranking among the top companies in the field in Europe and the World. GEODIS, owned by SNCF Logistics, which in turn is a business line of the SNCF Group, is ranked as the number four logistics provider in Europe and number seven at a worldwide level. GEODIS is also listed as a “Leader” in Gartner’s 2016 Magic Quadrant of Worldwide 3PLs. GEODIS’ reach includes a direct presence in 67 countries and a global network spanning over 120 countries. With its five Lines of Business (Supply Chain Optimization, Freight Forwarding, Contract Logistics, Distribution & Express, and Road Transport), GEODIS manages its customers’ Supply Chain by providing end to end solutions enabled by over 39,500 employees, its infrastructure, its processes and systems. In 2016, GEODIS recorded €8 billion in sales.